Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Rating Lowered by Oppenheimer

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was downgraded by stock analysts at Oppenheimer from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports.

AAPL has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.05.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $237.62 on Wednesday. Apple has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $241.37 and a 200 day moving average of $230.81.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.